Love and Millionaires
by youdoyou
Summary: Bella learns a secret that results in her becoming a millionaire, 1500 miles away, Edward loses everything he has. The two paths converge and these two individuals learn how to cope with what life has thrown at them and each other. AH
1. THE INHERITANCE

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of these characters. They all belong to Stephenie Meyer...blah blah blah.

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CHAPTER 1: THE INHERITANCE

"Hi Mom, I'm about to head into a meeting right now, so I can't talk very long." Bella Swan was sitting in her cramped office at the Gold Bird Publishing House.

"Isabella Marie Dwyer, you best make time for your mama." Renee said in mock anger.

"You know I don't like it when you use my full name, it makes it seem like I'm in trouble or something." Bella leaned back in her chair and bit the end of her pen thinking maybe she was in trouble after all.

"You're not in trouble Bella, don't worry." Renee hesitated and the line went silent for a few seconds. Bella was starting to get worried. She knew her mother very well, they were best friends after all, and silence from Renee was never a good thing.

"Mom, what is it? You're starting to freak me out a little bit."

Angela, one of Bella's coworkers stopped by her office door and pointed to her watch signaling the meeting was going to start soon. Bella waved her hand and began to gather the materials she was going to need.

"Bella…"

"Sorry, mom but I really have to get going." Bella began to stand up and walk out the door, but remembered she wasn't using her cell phone but her desk phone which pulled her back when the phone cord ran out.

"Okay, but sweetie, I need you to come over as soon as you can. After work, okay? Don't worry, you're not in trouble and me and Phil are fine. I just need to tell you something and I'd actually rather not do it over the phone, now that I think about it." Renee said rushed.

"Alright mom, I'll come over for dinner tonight then. I'll see you, bye." Bella hung up the phone and rushed out of her office hoping she wasn't going to be too late to the meeting. Unfortunately, she was a bit of the clumsy type and tripped on her doorframe causing her to drop all her papers.

At the end of her work day, Bella walked to her car. It was one of those nondescript cars, just a regular gray two door vehicle. It wasn't new, in fact, she's had in since she was in high school. But it was reliable. Bella often liked to think of herself like the car she drove. She wasn't a stand out girl. She was intelligent and reliable.

The 30 minute drive to her mom and Phil's house was a pleasant one. Luckily, she got out of work late enough that she didn't have to drive in too much traffic. It was times like these, when she was completely by herself, that she realized she was in fact, by herself.

Bella Dwyer was only 25 and lived in Phoenix, Arizona her whole life. Her mom, Renee, was an elementary school teacher and her father, Phil, coached high school baseball. Bella went to college in Arizona and never really felt the need to go off to live somewhere else. She traveled of course, every year with her parents to a different state for their summer vacations. She loved going to new places, but she always knew her home was wherever her family was. She may not have had a big family, but they were still her family.

After she graduated college, she was lucky enough to get the job that she wanted. Kind of. Bella wanted to go into publishing and ultimately wanted to become an editor of her own established publishing house. As of right now, she was working as an assistant. It's been three years since she had gotten that job and felt like it was about time she got a promotion.

But the little publishing company she worked for now had a small staff. And with the economic downturn, no one else had been getting promotions or raises. So, for the moment, Bella was content. Well, except for the fact that that little publishing company only published high school and college textbooks. So Bella often found herself reintroducing herself to history and literary material she read years and years ago.

As soon as Bella pulled into the small driveway at her parent's house, her mother came running out.

"Bella, dinners ready!" Renee gave her daughter a quick hug. She surveyed her, hoping Bella didn't notice the frantic look on her mother's face. Renee had been keeping a secret from her daughter for the past 25 years. She knew it was wrong of her to mislead her daughter, but she always believed it was best for her. Unfortunately, secrets often get out. The longer they sit in wait, the bigger the explosion.

"Hi mom, where's dad?" Bella noticed that her mother's voice was an octave higher than usual, but since Renee had told her she wasn't in trouble and they were perfectly healthy, Bella couldn't imagine what else it might be. For all she knew, Renee probably just wanted to reveal where they were going to go for their summer vacation.

"He's watching the game." Renee led her daughter into their home. Bella usually liked coming home. It was a very modest two bedroom home, the same home she lived in all her life. It had a living room, kitchen and a small dining room. The backyard was her favorite though. When she was in elementary school, Phil had surprised her with a little house that he had built one weekend. Bella stored all her books and often retreated to that little home when she wanted to be alone. To this day, that little house that Phil built for her was still there in the backyard underneath a tree.

Unfortunately, as soon as Bella entered the house, she could feel that the walls in the living room were containing the tension she couldn't feel outside. Phil was sitting in his usual chair watching some sporting game but didn't seem to actually be paying attention to it. As soon as he saw Bella enter, he shut off the television, which was quite out of character, and went to hug Bella.

"Hi dad." Bella hugged him tightly.

"Hi Bella, how's the wonderful world of textbook publishing?" He usual comment would make her laugh, but tonight, the way he said it seemed kind of forced. Now Bella was starting to get nervous. Something was going on and as much as her parents tried to hide it, it was very apparent.

Renee ushered all of them to the dining room where a simple meal of chicken and salad sat. Bella kept trying to force the uneasy feeling out of her system, but with each furtive glance one of her parents would pass her or when they would share a look between themselves, it would only cause her heart to beat faster.

"Mom, you made dessert too? Is this a special occasion?" Bella tried to joke as Renee cleared the dinner table and brought out a pie dish, but it only caused a stricken look on her mother's face and Phil to stuff a big piece of apple pie in his mouth.

"Oh Bella, you know I don't bake." Renee gave her a tight smile.

"Okay…mom." Bella bit a piece of pie. The gooey apple was warm in her mouth and as she chewed, she decided to finally learn what the point of her coming home was.

"Mom, why did you ask me to come over tonight?" Bella pushed her half eaten plate of pie away from her. Renee visibly gulped and looked uncomfortable.

"Does anyone want coffee first?" Renee began to stand up.

"Mom, seriously, you're scaring me now. What's going on?" Bella knew her voice went up a notch. Her heart was beating loudly and her palms were starting to sweat.

"Honey, just tell her." Phil looked as his wife and nodded. "Just like a band aid, remember? The faster you do it, the faster it'll be over."

Renee nodded and sat down again. She grabbed her daughter's hand and looked into her eyes. Bella's eyes, the rich chocolate brown eyes she remembered so well. She looked at her husband, who had blue eyes, just like herself.

"Bella, you know I had you when I was very young." Renee started. "You know me, I'm kind of impulsive and…"

"Mom?" Bella prompted Renee after a minute of silence.

"Well, the truth is, Phil isn't really how old he says he is."

"I don't understand." Bella looked at Phil. His crystal clear blue eyes, were often jovial, but tonight they were somber.

"I'm 4 years younger than your mom." Phil explained.

"Okay…did you really need me here to tell me that?" Bella knew something was coming, something that was going to change her life forever. Both her parents stayed silent, as if giving her the time to figure this out on herself. Her mother's hand was still tightly grasping her fingers and Bella pulled them away to allow the blood to circulate through it.

Then Bella began to do the math in her head. Her mom was 45 right now. Bella was 25 which meant her mom was 20 when she had her. Okay, she knew that part already. Renee always told Bella she never regretted having her, but didn't want Bella do be having babies at such a young age. But Phil was 4 years younger than Renee? That meant he was only 16 when Bella was born. Phil was only 16 years old when she was born!

"Mom!" Bella jumped up, surprised at this revelation. She stared at her parents. That simple fact just changed how she saw them. How could her mother get with, Bella could barely stomach to think about this, a 16 year old boy?

"Bella, I know this may come as a shock…" Renee didn't realize what her daughter could be thinking. It definitely wasn't what Bella was thinking.

"How…did that happen? He was only 16 when I was born? Oh god…I'm not sure I want to hear about this…" Bella began to pace the dining room, trying to dispel the images of her 20 year old mother with a 16 year old Phil. There was a very good chance that she was about to throw up her dinner.

"Wait…Bella?" Renee stood up and stopped her daughter from pacing. "What are you thinking?"

"That…you and Phil…when he was…_sixteen_?" Bella whispered, almost disgusted with the fact that she was born out of statutory rape.

"What? Oh no, honey." Renee looked surprised, then looked like she wanted to laugh out loud.

"Wait…then, I really don't understand. Is he not 4 years younger than you or not? And…why did you have to lie about his age?" Bella looked at her dad, who wasn't looking at either of them. Rather, his gaze was focused on something outside the dining room window. Bella followed his gaze to see that little house he built her.

"He is 4 years younger than me. The reason why I'm telling you this is because…." Renee looked at Phil quickly before focusing on Bella once again. Renee took both her hands tightly.

"I'm telling you this because Phil isn't your real father."

Bella felt the world go silent. That bomb of a secret finally exploded leaving her confused and disoriented. Surely, this had to be a joke. Renee's eyes were trying to hold Bella's to hers. Bella had to yank her hands out of her mother's grasp so she could sit down.

It was a few minutes before anyone could speak.

"Why, after all this time, are you telling me now?" Bella asked, looking at the wood grain on the dining room table.

"The man, your biological father, has passed away." Renee sat down at the table once more.

"Why did you keep this a secret from me? Why did you lie?" Bella asked angrily.

"It's complicated. I wanted to tell you. So many times I wanted to tell you. It's just that, the longer I waited, the harder it was to tell you. I know this is my fault, you had a right to know the truth. It's just…you grew up with Phil and he _is_ your father in every respect, and the other man…he wasn't going to be coming back in the picture." Renee silently had tears running down her face. This was her shame, she knew. She knew she should have told Bella years and years ago. Nothing she could do now would change was she did in the past. She could only work on fixing it with her daughter.

"I'm going to leave the two of you to talk." Phil stood up and walked over to Bella, who he truly saw as his daughter. He knelt down next to her chair and held one of her hands. "No matter what Bella, you _are_ my daughter and I've always loved you as my own. Nothing changes this."

He kissed her lightly on the forehead just as he had when she was a little girl. Bella felt her heart break a little bit, knowing that she wasn't really his. Despite what he said, that little fact changed everything.

When Phil left the room, Bella continued to stare at the table.

"I know not telling you is the worst thing I could have done. I know this. But…" Renee began.

"What was his name?" Bella asked, finally bringing her eyes to her mother's. "My…f-father, what was his name?"

"His name was Charlie, Charlie Swan." Renee nodded, she could see what he looked like even after 25 years.

"What happened between the two of you?" Bella asked. She still wasn't sure how she was feeling about everything.

"We married very young. I was only 20, as you know, and he was 21. He had just gotten out of college and started a job in his father's company. We met a year before and…it was love at first sight. At least…what I thought was love." Renee told her daughter everything, about how she and Charlie got married after 6 months of dating. Renee had found out she was pregnant immediately after they got back from their short honeymoon. Renee told Bella how she found Charlie's family stifling, how they made it known that they disapproved of Charlie's marriage to Renee.

"You were a year old when we left Charlie." Renee said, more tears spilling from her eyes. "You need to understand why I left."

"Charlie came from a family that is unlike ours in so many ways. He was very rich, he came from old money, I guess you can call it. At first, his parents thought I married him for his money. But, we did genuinely love each other, very much. They didn't approve of him marrying a small town girl who was going to school to become a teacher."

Bella could see her mother at 20 years old, in love with a man who she never knew existed. Her mother painted a picture for her, Renee living in a house 10 times bigger than the one they were in now with an endless supply of money at her fingertips. Charlie worked long hours at the family company, coming home only to be able to spend a few hours with his family. Renee spent most days with the people who loathed her existence and a one year old Bella.

"It was the night of their family business's anniversary. They were celebrating the 75th anniversary, I believe. There was a huge gala thrown. Charlie had to wear a tux and he bought me the most gorgeous dress…" Renee paused to dab her eyes with the sleeves of her shirt. Bella could see how much this pained her mother to say and in a way, she knew she had already forgiven Renee for keeping the truth from her. If Renee was having a hard time telling Bella this now, at 25 years old, she would have had a hell of a time telling Bella when she was a teenager.

"Charlie's mother was helping me get dressed. She had brought me a family heirloom necklace and told me that I didn't deserve to wear the Swan jewels. She had told me that Charlie made the biggest mistake of his life marrying me and having a child. I saw that necklace as a noose around my neck Bella. I wasn't sure if I could handle the rest of my life with his family, knowing that they despised me. His mother, propositioned me."

"What do you mean…propositioned you?" Bella asked.

"She told me, that if I left Charlie now, she would pay me a very _handsome_ allowance. She basically was going to pay me to stay away from him." Renee shook her head.

"Mom…you didn't take it did you?" Bella asked, angry again. Her mother wasn't the type to be superficial or into monetary gains.

"Of course I didn't take it Bella! I may have lied to you, but I wasn't money hungry." Renee looked offended causing Bella to feel bad she even suggested such a thing.

"So…what happened?"

"I didn't go to the gala that night." Renee nodded, she was lost in her own memory. "I wrote a letter to Charlie, explaining that I couldn't live in his world. That I felt oppressed and that I was so sorry for everything. I told him that he deserved to be with someone who could make him and his family happy. I left the note on our bed with the necklace his mother gave me. I changed out of my gown and went into the next room to get you. You were sound asleep and didn't make a fuss as I left the family mansion and the party behind."

"You just left him?" Bella felt sad, sad for the father she never knew. She couldn't imagine what he felt when he realized his wife and child had left him.

"I contacted him from a payphone when I reached California. I explained to him why I had done what I did and begged him not to look for me. He argued at first, then cried and did the only thing he could do, which was accept that I was never going back to him. He told me he loved me and said that if I ever changed my mind, I could always go back to him. He even suggested that he would leave his family too, that the three of us could leave the country together."

"But, I knew it wasn't possible. His family was powerful and they would find him eventually. They wouldn't try finding me, I knew that, they wouldn't want to find me. So I didn't worry about that."

"You lived with your grandma for two years while I tried to finish school and get a job. That's when I met Phil. He was only 19 when we first met." Renee said.

"Phil knew…everything?" I asked.

"Yes, I didn't want to keep anything about myself a lie. He was very persistent in dating me, so I told him, to test him." Renee explained.

"And I passed." Phil entered the room again and sat down.

"Your mother told me everything. We dated for a year before she let me come see you for the first time. You were three years old at the time. I fell in love with you the moment I saw you, just like when I saw your mother for the first time." Phil reached over to hold his wife's hand.

"But…you were only 19 Phil…how were you able to make such a big decision?" Bella asked. She could imagine what it was like. He was in love with a woman who had a lot of baggage which included a daughter and an ex-husband.

"It was easy for me. I wasn't what you would call a normal college student. I always saw myself as more mature." Phil smiled.

"You, mature?" Bella joked. It lightened the mood a little bit. Bella stood up and gave Phil a hug. She felt like she needed this. It was hard for her to imagine a young Phil, giving up the life of collegedom to help take care of a baby girl who wasn't even his.

"I don't regret anything." Phil patted his daughter's back. He could remember back then, wrestling with the idea that he would give up his baseball career to be with the woman he loved and a baby he didn't think he could love. But life had a funny way of turning your world upside down. In all honesty, Phil never regretted leaving baseball behind to have a family.

"So…now that you told me all of this…what now?" Bella asked, once she resumed her seat. Renee and Phil shared another look. "Okay, no more secrets. I'm assuming there's more?"

"Y-yes…" Renee said. "It turns out…Charlie's parents knew where I was all along. Of course, they never told him. That's how they knew to call me here with the news of his passing."

"…how did he die?" Bella asked.

"He had a heart attack. I guess…it was the stress of his job that caused it. His mother called me last week to tell me about the funeral."

"She did! After what she told you the night you left? She had the nerve to invite you to his funeral?" Bella asked angrily, already hating the woman who would be her grandmother.

"Bella, you need to understand, it's been 25 years and she apologized for what she had done to me. She's an old woman who wants to make amends." Renee explained. "I didn't go to his funeral…it was a couple of days ago…and I was debating on whether or not I should have told you as soon as I got the call, but I thought you wouldn't have wanted to go. So I let it go. That is…until I got another call from his mother this morning."

"What did she want?" Bella asked.

"She wanted to tell me about Charlie's will." Renee looked at her daughter who looked so much like Charlie. The dark brown hair and eyes, Bella even had the smooth alabaster skin Charlie's family had.

"Charlie wanted to leave you something in his will…an inheritance." Renee explained. When Kitty, Charlie's mother, told her, Renee almost dropped the phone out of surprise.

"What is it?" Bella asked, thinking she was going to get some sentimental items. Maybe something Charlie had kept after all these years, like a baby blanket, or possibly a photo of him and her. That would have been nice, to see what this Charlie Swan looked like. Bella didn't think she had many baby photographs anyway.

"He left you a quarter of his company's shares." Renee stated.

"What?" Bella was surprised. She didn't even know what kind of company he ran…then again, she didn't know about him till an hour ago.

"That's not all…remember when I told you his mother propositioned me. It turns out she put money away each year anyway to give to you, eventually. She may have not liked me, but you are her granddaughter. And…Charlie left you a very substantial amount of his own money as well." Renee further explained.

"So…what does this mean?" Bella asked, still confused and a bit terrified.

Renee bit her lip and watched her daughter. Bella's doe eyes were wide as if Renee was going to drop another bomb. In a way, she kind of was.

"It means…you're a millionaire sweetie."

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** Thanks for reading! I am very excited about this fic. Lots of excitement and mystery to come! Stayed tuned for next chapter because where our heroine Bella gains an undisclosed amount of millions, another man (hint hint) loses his fortune. Please review =)**


	2. THE DOWNFALL

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of these characters. They all belong to Stephenie Meyer...blah blah blah.**

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CHAPTER 2: THE DOWNFALL

At the exact time Isabella Marie Dwyer was learning of her fortune, another individual, 1500 miles away from her in Seattle was having his own fortune ripped from him.

"What do you mean you're cutting me off?" Edward Cullen slammed his fist on the oak desk. He knew he was being childish, but he was 25 years old and being told he wasn't going to have that steady flow of his inheritance supplementing his income.

"Your mother and I have talked about it in great depth. We just think that you need to gain perspective in life and the money is getting in your way of seeing how life should be." Carlisle Cullen looked steadily into his son's bright green eyes. They were the exact same color as his wife's.

"Edward, you need to see this from our perspective. We don't know what has gotten into you lately, but after you got that DUI and you started dating Tanya, you've been a different person." Esme Cullen was standing behind her husband's chair, holding his shoulder for support. She couldn't bear to hurt her only son, but his behavior has been out of control the past few months she knew something had to be done.

"You're blaming Tanya for this?" Edward spat. His hands were balled into fists.

"We're not blaming Tanya, Edward." Carlisle knew his son. Edward was just lost and he needed to find his way. The boy standing angrily before them wasn't the son that they raised. "We're just saying that we've noticed a change around the time you started dating her."

"What's the difference?" Edward shrugged and stood up from the chair he sat on. He began to pace his father's office. The dark wood paneling of the room screamed luxury, even the gold light fixtures were probably worth more than an average person's day of work. "So…what, you're going to throw me out on the street? What about my condo?"

"Don't get too dramatic sweetie." Esme began. "And we're not throwing you out. We will be renting that condo out in the meantime. We got you a more humble apartment."

"Where?"

"You'll still be living Downtown." Carlisle replied. "It'll just be more affordable based on how much money you make now."

"What exactly is the point of this?" Edward asked, feeling the heat rise in his body. He had been working in the financial industry, but he made one wrong move and lost 75% of one of his client's assets. And it wasn't just any client, it was the firm's most important client. Needless to say, he lost his job and had been working as a financial advisor for a very small company because that was the only one that would take him. The money he earned from that job wasn't even enough to cover half his monthly expenses.

"Your mother and I both made our own money growing up. Everything you see in this house, was the result of both of our hard work and dedication. We didn't take our money for granted Edward, the way you have seemed to." Carlisle said.

"And how long is this supposed to last?" Edward asked. His fingers were now tingling. All his money…gone, just like his sanity.

"Until we feel that you have gained a new perspective on life." Esme smiled slightly. She hated doing this to her son, but she knew she had no choice. She had seen something similar happen to her cousin. He had taken all his money for granted, that was all he thought about. When the stock market took a heavy downturn, he had lost all his money, similar to Edward. After that, he had taken a gun to his mouth.

Of course, that was probably the most extreme case. But Esme didn't want to take chances with her son. She would be devastated if Edward went down that same road.

"You'll also won't be driving your Audi anymore…we are going to let you use the Volvo." Carlisle took the Volvo keys out of his desk drawer and placed them on the desk for his son to take.

"The Volvo?" Edward asked. Dread filled him. The same car he drove 10 years ago in high school. Great.

"You need to learn how hard life is. You've had it too easy, everything was handed to you your entire life." Carlisle stood up and walked toward his son, placing his hands on Edward's shoulders. "This will be good for you, I know it."

"Yeah…whatever." Edward gave up. He knew when his parents made a decision they would stick to it. And it seems that in this case, they wouldn't decide to give him his money back…until they thought he was ready.

_Fine, they want to teach me a lesson, I'll play along with their game_, Edward thought darkly to himself.

His mother, whom he got most his looks from, wrote the address for him on a post it and handed it to him.

"We already had all your belongings switched to your new apartment."

"Great…I have to go meet Tanya for dinner." Edward turned on his heel and left his parents. Deep down, he knew they meant well, but he couldn't help but resent them at the moment.

Edward drove his battered, to him, Volvo to Crush, his and Tanya's favorite restaurant. He was about to pull into the valet parking area, but decided not to. He couldn't very well spend money he didn't have. Instead he parked a little ways down the street and walked to the restaurant.

Thankfully, it wasn't raining.

He couldn't believe his parents. Taking away his monthly inheritance allowance all for what? So he could learn how to be poor? What exactly was that going to do? Once they realized he could do it, because he could, they would just give him all his money back anyway. So therefore, this was all just an inconvenient waste of time.

Edward Cullen grew up in Seattle all his life. His father, Carlisle, is a world class neurosurgeon who was sought throughout the globe because of a medical breakthrough he had discovered ten years ago. He still visits different countries occasionally to give lectures and talk at seminars. His mother, Esme, was originally a model in the 70's then became a very successful singer. Esme was singing at a hotel lounge when she first met Carlisle.

Eventually they married, had Edward and gave him the best childhood they could. Edward never heard the word "no" from his parents. If they had said that to him then, he probably wouldn't be taking the retraction of his inheritance so badly, so in a way, some fault could be put upon his parents. Then again, his parents never could foresee that their perfect son would end up living life in the fast lane where all he cared about was making as much money and spending as much money as he could.

Edward was trying to think of something that would give rise to his parents taking such drastic measures as he walked down the street to the restaurant. Sure, the last year or two weren't perfect for him. First, he had that very embarrassing DUI blow up in his face. The DUI charges itself weren't expensive, to him, he was just trying to keep it a secret from his parents.

For about a week they didn't know, that is until Edward got caught driving while his license was suspended.

A few days before his DUI was when he met Tanya, they didn't start dating till two months after. Then he began spending more time with Tanya. He stopped going to his parent's house every weekend, rather going every two weeks. Tanya always lured him into going with her to Manhattan on the weekends where they would spend thousands at a different hotel each weekend.

Shortly after he and Tanya became an official couple, he lost his job. All the big papers in the city published that it was he, Edward Cullen, who lost millions for this big client.

"Good evening Mr. Cullen. Your date is already waiting at your usual table." The hostess said as soon as he walked into the restaurant. Edward nodded and headed toward the back of the restaurant.

His girlfriend, sat at their table, typing something into her cellphone.

She was gorgeous. Edward knew from the moment he had seen her, she was the type of woman he wanted. She was smart, confident, hot, and not to mention in the same tax bracket. Edward knew that was shallow of him to think, but he knew from experience that regular women couldn't last in the type of world he devoted his life to.

As soon as she felt his presence, Tanya shut her phone down and stood up to greet her boyfriend. Edward noticed she was wearing a mini dress which accentuated her long toned legs.

"Hey beautiful." Edward kissed her lightly on the lips before resuming his seat.

"So what did your parents need to tell you so bad that you had to cancel on our pre-dinner sex romp?" Tanya joked. Edward was supposed to pick Tanya up at her parent's house earlier so they could get it on, a little tradition they decided on because they were always hungry afterwards. But, his parents called him and insisted they come to their house. That was when they dropped the bomb.

"You'll never guess." Edward laughed nervously. Tanya had the same outlook on their wealth as he did. They both knew it was nearly impossible to lose all their own money, so they never even entertained the thought of being poor. At least, Edward hasn't until now.

"They're buying you a condo in Manhattan?" Tanya asked excitedly. Part of her work took her to Manhattan every few weeks, where the headquarters of her parents hotel business was located.

"Uh, quite the opposite actually." Edward stated. A waiter had come over and poured them each a glass of the wine they had been known to get. Edward winced, knowing exactly how much each glass of that wine cost. He was used to crunching financial numbers in his head, and knew that this meal would probably cost him his entire paycheck from his real job.

"Babe, just tell me because I have fantastic news to tell you." Tanya said giddily. Her dark blue eyes sparkled in the semi darkness of the restaurant. Edward stared at her full lips and her golden hair, he wanted so bad to touch her. He wanted her to comfort him, but this scenario seemed too out of character for them both.

"You should go first then." Edward said, drinking his $100 glass of wine.

"Well, I told you that daddy pretty much has set up for me to inherit the hotel in Manhattan right?" Edward nodded. "I'm going to be running it for an entire month, just so he can see that I'm ready to finally take over."

Edward's eyes widened.

"Wow…that's such great news. How are you supposed to be running it if you're here in Seattle?"

"Don't be silly, I'm going to be living in New York while I'm there." Tanya waved her hand. "I want you to come with me."

Edward felt like a brick was thrown in his face. Great, not only did he have to tell her he was poor, but he had to tell her he wouldn't be able to afford living in New York for a month.

"I don't know if that's such a good idea Tanya." Edward began. Tanya's face immediately fell.

"Why? I already have a condo there. And if you're worried about working, I'm sure you'll be able to find a banking job or something there, hello Wall Street." Tanya drank the rest of her wine and waved her hand for another glass.

"Well…let me tell you my news first." Edward gave a little laugh nervously.

"My parents are cutting me off."

Tanya looked at him blankly. It was like she had never heard of such words before.

"Cut you off?" Tanya looked away from him uncomfortably. "What do you mean?"

"They took away my inheritance." Edward bluntly said. "They also took my car and my condo."

"How'd you get here then? And where do you live?" Tanya looked mortified.

"I drove my old Volvo." Edward pulled out the post it his mother gave him before he left. When he saw the address, Edward scoffed. "And great, I get to live in a one bedroom apartment in South Lake."

Edward looked up at Tanya, but couldn't decipher the expression on her face. Edward didn't know what he wanted right now. He wanted to go back to a year ago when everything was perfect still. When he still had his job, when he still had his condo and when his parents didn't seem to resent him so much.

"Look, I don't want to talk about it…can we just forget it for a few hours? I just want to feel normal." Edward tried to shake of the dread that had been creeping up on him since he had come into the restaurant. The tie he was wearing was like a noose around his neck, slowly tightening with each minute.

"Whatever you want babe…" Tanya nodded and proceeded to tell him all about how excited she was to go off to New York next month, wanting to distract himself and herself that he wasn't exactly rich anymore.

When the bill arrived, Edward could hardly swallow that last bit of dessert. Before he could grab it, Tanya had snatched it from the table.

"Babe…I got it." She smiled. Oh god, Edward knew that smile. It was when she gave it to people she felt sorry for. She usually smiled that way when a person's card gets declined at the store causing a long line to form behind them or when her family forces her to make an appearance at one of the soup kitchens they donate to.

"Tanya, just because I don't get money from my inheritance, doesn't mean I don't have money." Edward said. He couldn't help but feel his pride and dignity fall sharply. Truth was, he had some money in his bank account, but he was also thinking about the bills he would soon have to worry about.

"It's fine…you always pay for dinner anyway, let me do it this once." Tanya slipped her credit card and a waiter promptly picked it up.

As the couple left the restaurant, Tanya turned to Edward in the parking lot before they reached her Mercedes.

"Do you want me to come with you to see your new place?" Tanya held his hand lightly.

"No…it's fine." Edward shrugged. He was planning on moping.

"Are you sure? I can think of a few ways to make you feel better." Tanya whispered in Edward's ear seductively. The ring in her voice caused Edward's core to warm.

"If you insist." Edward kissed Tanya in the parking lot. He delved his tongue into her mouth, hoping to make himself forget about his problems. But Tanya's sex appeal wasn't enough. Even when she moved her hand to cup him through his slacks, it was only a moment before the words "poor" kept flashing in his head.

After a minute of groping, Edward decided they needed to take their public indecency behind closed doors. Edward drove his Volvo while Tanya followed in her sleek black car.

"It's not as bad as you thought it was." Tanya strode into her boyfriend's new apartment. Sure, it was probably only a fourth the size of his condo, but she kept reminding herself that this was only temporary. His parents couldn't withhold his money forever…right?

"Are you kidding me? It's tiny. How am I supposed to relax in here when it feels so claustrophobic?" Edward dropped his keys on the kitchen counter and proceeded to walk through the rest of his new home which didn't take more than a minute. "The bathroom isn't even connected to the bedroom."

Edward came back out and sat on his sofa next to Tanya. _Huh_, Edward thought, _at least my mother was kind enough to bring over my television_.

"It's fine Edward. You're going to bounce back from this. It's only a minor blip." Tanya stroked Edward's cheek then trailed her fingers through his soft hair. Her lips found his easily and she began to make him forget that he was in a small apartment.

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**A/N: So, I'd like to thank everyone who took the time out to read and review! You guys are all amazing and awesome. Anyway, I know Edward is kind of douchey and a little bitch, but hey, he can only get better form here right? We shall see...Next chapter is all about Bella. Please REVIEW! ~xoxo**


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